The ship’s itinerary called for Londonderry (Derry for Irish
purists) on the river Foyle. However, the river Foyle at Londonderry is
considered a ‘marginal’ port for cruise liners. Tidal fluctuations are large.
The river is said to be the fastest flowing one in Europe. At Derry proper it
is spanned by low bridges.
Instead of anchoring at the Port of Londonderry (not in the
city centre either) we dropped ‘the hook’ further down river at the end of a
‘loch’ just outside Greencastle at the entry of Lough Foyle.
Londonderry – Derry – has been the longest inhabited
settlement in Ireland, dating back to the sixth century. It is the ONLY walled
city in Ireland. It also was the scene of the ‘Times of Troubles’ in Northern
Ireland (IRA, Bloody Sunday, Hunger Strikes, The Good Friday Agreement, the
Orange and the Greens, Protestant and Catholic, an independent Ireland versus a
‘Colony of England’ etc etc).
Having made no plans, any exploratory trip was fine with me.
A little red bus was parked right beside the tender pier, which offered to take
visitors for the price of 25 Pounds Sterling on a day tour to Bushmills Irish
Whiskey distillery (no Irish or Scottish excursion is complete without at least
one visit to a distillery), the Giant’s Causeway, and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope
Bridge. No need to shuttle for an hour to Londonderry….
Bushmills distillery produced the liquid gold since 1608 – they
have lots of practice. Barley is mashed, and distilled three times – after
which the alcohol content is about 83% - too much even for the Irish. The
extract is ‘watered down’ to an acceptable level, after which the brew is aged
in second hand wooden casks, originating from Kentucky (bourbon), Spain
(Sherry) and Portugal (Port). The whiskey takes on the some of aroma of the
original content. Over the years, some of the alcohol evaporates (around 4% per
annum), and the colour of the brew darkens from light honey colour to deep dark
brown. The less whiskey remains in the barrel (after a few decades the
shrinkage is significant) the more price goes up, and the smoothness of the
whiskey increases.
After walking through the extensive plant – we had a
‘tasting’ of the 12 year old end product. At 11 a.m. a rather adventurous
undertaking, which somewhat helped to overlook the constant chilling drizzle
outside.
Thus fortified one drives towards the only UNESCO world
heritage site in Ireland: a geological oddity of over 40,000 interlocking
basalt columns of different colours and sizes, the result of intense volcanic
activity more than 60 million years ago.
Of course, being Ireland, myths around the origin of the
‘causeway’ abound. It was supposed to have been used by the mighty giant Finn
McCool….a long and intricate story involving giants dressed up as babies best
looked up in Google.
To reach the causeway from the visitor’s centre which is
more gigantic than the causeway itself, one needs to either hike about 2 km (I
did in in rather fresh winds and bone chilling drizzle – under a rather
reluctant umbrella) or take a shuttle bus (line ups forever). One may clamber
at will over the thousands of slippery rocks, as well as hike for hours around
the commanding cliffs with expansive views over the sea and coastline.
A short drive further along the coast takes one (amongst
dozens of other coastal attractions) to Ballintoy, location of the
Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge (from the Scottish-Gaelic Carraig-a-Rade, meaning
rock in the road).
This bridge was originally constructed of rope (still is) by
local salmon fishermen searching for the best fishing grounds, and it spans a
chasm 20 meters wide and 30 meters deep. It connects to a small rocky island,
which is home to thousands of sea birds.
To reach the bridge from the visitor’s centre (a tiny affair
with a small tea room and shop) one hikes for a little more of a kilometer
along a winding cliff side path grating breathtaking views of the craggy coast
line and off lying islands. For 5.90 Pounds one may cross the bridge to the
island(never more than 8 people allowed at any one time) – I passed up on the
opportunity.
On my stroll out towards the bridge, I enjoyed sunny, summery,
clear and warm weather. My way back was rainy, stormy, wet and cold. Irish
weather I suppose…however, the Emerald Isle is named aptly. Green of the
lushest and most vibrant hue covers the country side which, as usual, is dotted
with sheep, sheep and more sheep.
Northern Ireland – after my initial glimpse of just a tiny
part of it – seems to offer an incredible amount of natural beauty, millennia
of history, castles and more castles, and an abundance of local culture –
definitely worth a longer stay: Abide a wee…..
